Fearless
| Recorded = 2008 | Genre = Country pop | Length = 53:41 | Producer = Scott Borchetta (exec.), Nathan Chapman, Taylor Swift | Reviews = *About.com link *Allmusic link *''Billboard'' link *''Blender Magazine'' link *''Boston Globe'' B+ link *''Entertainment Weekly'' B link *''Rolling Stone'' link *''The 9513'' link *''Toronto Star link | Label = Big Machine | Last album = Beautiful Eyes (2008) | This album = Fearless (2008) | Next album = | Single 2 = Love Story | Single 2 date = | Single 3 = You're Not Sorry | Single 3 date = | Single 4 = You Belong With Me | Single 4 date = }} }} Fearless is the second studio album by American country pop artist Taylor Swift, released on November 11, 2008 (see 2008 in country music) on Big Machine Records. It debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200, U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums, Canadian Albums Chart, and Canadian Top Country Albums, and has been certified gold by RIAA. It’s lead single “Love Story” hit number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs (her third number one) and Canadian Country Singles Chart and peaked at #5 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and #4 on the Canadian Hot 100, becoming her highest charting single in both U.S. and Canada. It’s been certified gold by RIAA. Four digital only singles were released from the albums and all hit top 20 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100: “Change” (#10), “Fearless” (#9), ““You're Not Sorry” (#11) and “You Belong with Me” (#12). The song “White Horse”, without a single release and no promotion, due to high popularity, debuted at #13 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. With "White Horse", Swift made "a calendar-year record for any artist in the 50-year history of the chart ...for... she is now tied for second place with Mariah Carey and the Beatles for the most top 20 debuts in a career. One more new entry inside this elite tier will put her in a three-way tie for first place with Janet Jackson and Madonna."http://www.reuters.com/article/musicNews/idUSTRE4AK18H20081121 Also, every track on the album has charted on the Billboard Hot 100/Bubbling Under Hot 100. Release "Change", the first song from this album to chart, was also included on the AT&T TEAM USA Soundtrack, although "Love Story" is the first official single. The music video for "Love Story" made its premiere on Friday, September 12 at 8:30 P.M. EDT on CMT. Another track from this album, "White Horse", was played during the season premiere of Grey's Anatomy on Thursday, September 25, 2008. Swift also performed this song at the 2008 American Music Awards to promote this song as her second official single. The song "Hey Stephen" was written about Love & Theft band member Stephen Barker Liles, who toured with Swift in 2007-2008. Reception Fearless has received positive reviews from music critics, and according to the music review aggregator Metacritic, it has received an average score of 81, indicating universal acclaim.http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/swifttaylor/fearless Newsday gave the album an "A" calling the album "Wise beyond her years."http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/music/ny-ettaylorswift1111,0,3028872.story James Reed of the Boston Globe gave the album a strong positive review saying the "Young country star's 'Fearless' proves she's just that, and more".http://www.boston.com/ae/music/cd_reviews/articles/2008/11/10/rise_and_shine/ Allmusic quote the way Swift writes her music and how she matured into her new album: "Swift's gentle touch is as enduring as her songcraft, and this musical maturity may not quite jibe with her age but it does help make Fearless one of the best mainstream pop albums of 2008." Rolling Stone said that her "music mixes an almost impersonal professionalism - it's so rigorously crafted it sounds like it has been scientifically engineered in a hit factory - with confessions that are squirmingly intimate and true."http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/taylorswift/albums/album/23658659/review/23947375/fearless The album was released in Australia on November 15, and Swift will tour in March 2009 to support the album, with Kellie Pickler opening for her.http://www.zimbio.com/Kellie+Pickler/articles/123 Taylor+Swift+Kellie+Pickler+BFF+Touring+Together Track listing Chart performance The album's first-day sales alone totaled at 217,000. It debuted on the ''Billboard'' 200 at number one for sales of 592,304 copies, making it the best sales week for a country record since The Eagles' Long Road out of Eden in November 2007 and earning Swift a gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America. The album shifted 129,000 copies digitally, the fourth biggest-week since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking them in 2004. In it's second week of release, the album sold 217,000 copies for a total of 809,670. Chart procession and succession References Category:2008 albums Category:Big Machine Records albums Category:Taylor Swift albums